tardigrade

noun

tar·​di·​grade ˈtär-də-ˌgrād How to pronounce tardigrade (audio)
: any of a phylum (Tardigrada) of microscopic invertebrates with four pairs of stout legs that live usually in water or damp moss

called also water bear

Examples of tardigrade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But most tardigrades are microscopic Earthlings, in fact. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2025 View gallery - 5 images A platinum fiddle that's just 35 microns in length and 13 microns in width is believed to be the world's smallest violin, measuring just a fraction of a tardigrade or the diameter of an average human hair. New Atlas, 4 June 2025 Next, the tardigrade was covered with an organic liquid known as anisole, which froze into a thin layer of ice. New Atlas, 5 May 2025 Once cooled, the tardigrades were coated with vaporized anisole, creating an ice layer. ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tardigrade

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin tardigradus slow-moving, from tardus slow + gradi to step, go — more at grade entry 1

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tardigrade was in 1860

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Cite this Entry

“Tardigrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tardigrade. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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